Stocking



\ Patented Nov. l5, i938 STOCKING Robert A. Folkman, Charlotte, N. C., alllgnor to Nebel Knitting Company,

cagnotte, N. o., s

corporation of North Carolina Application June 1, 1937, sei-n1 No. nasse 1 cmm. (ci. oei-isz) This invention relates to a full-fashioned stocking having a welt or doubled portion at the top thereof andhaving anupper leg portion extending below the bottom edge of the welt and having 5 a main leg portion connected by knitting to theI lower edge oi' the upper leg portion, said leg portion and upper leg portion and the Welt portion being joined together, longitudinally of the stocking, by a seam in a conventional seaming machine. l0 In the present type of full-fashioned stockings there is a great demand for a. stocking having a leg portion known as the chiffon or sheer type of hosiery and it has been found that at the junction point of the sheer leg portion with the upper leg portion where the seam crosses these portions, the breakage occurs. There are several theories as to the cause of this breakage but one of them is that the upper leg portion extending below the lower edge of the welt portion, is unable to withstand the stresses applied to the stocking on account of its being anchored at the Welt portion to suitable supporters and on account of the flexing of the knee and the body movement of the legs oi the wearer. In any event, there seems to be a great amount of lateral and longitudinal strainsalong the leg portions and breakage usually occurs at the junction point of the sheer leg portion with the upper leg portion on each side of the seam where it enters the upper leg portion.

This may be caused by the fact that the seamer loops. do not penetrate each course of the sheer portion of the stocking and therefore some of these courses are not anchored as well as the others, resulting in breakage of these loops, and

"45 provide a re-eniorced area extending along each side of the seam downwardly from the upper leg portion appearing immediately below the welt and extending substantially into the sheer portion ot the stocking and preferably being of the inverted '50 pyramid type so as to distribute the stresses and strains applied to this point of the stocking.

It is another object of this invention to provide a full-fashioned stocking having a sheer leg portion, an upper leg portion disposed adjacent 55 the upper end of the main leg portion, and a welt or doubled portion joined to the upper end of the upper leg portion, with the junction point of the upper leg portion and the sheer portion of the leg being further re-enforced on each side of the seam up the back of the les, penetrating the sheer 5 portion, the upper leg portion and the welt portion.

It is another object ofthis invention to provide a full-fashioned stocking having a welt'portion, `a top leg portion disposed immediately below the l0 lower edge of the welt portion and a sheer main leg portion, with the upper leg portion being of l single ply and knitted from substantially the same yarn as the welt is knitted with a plurality ofv courses in the lower edge of the upper leg portion not only having the 'welt yarn therein but also having the main leg yarn knitted along with the heavier welt yarn. v

Some of the objects oi the invention having been stated,A other objects will appear as the de- Q0 seription proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:-

Figure 1 is the rear perspective view of a stocking embodying the features of my invention;

Figure 2 is a front elevationof the upper enel W of a stocking with the front portion thereof broken away and showing my invention embodied therein; i

Figure 3 isan enlarged schematic view oi the right-handportion of the re-enforced area formim ing the subject of my invention.

Referring more specifically to the drawing, the numerals I0 and II indicate the inner and outer layers of the 'welt lof the stocking which are knitted together as at I2, and extending sonneA distance below the junction point of the lower edges of the welt is a top leg portion i3, usually knitted from the same yarn as the two layers of the welt. These layers of' the welt are usually made of a ve thread yarn, and as is well known, m when the welt has been knitted the lower edges thereof are interknitted. After interknitting the. lower edges of the welt and ve thread yarn is continued in the machine. to knit a top leg portion or band around the stocking indicated as I3.

l three courses of seven thread yarn from the dotted 35 line I5 to the upper edge of the sheer leg portion l I1, and then the iive thread yarn is withdrawn from the needles except at the outer edges thereof where the welt yarn is fed to a gradually diminishing number of wales to form a triangular re-enforced area, which, when the stocking is seamed, provides the re-enforced seven thread area indicated at il in the drawing. This area i4 may extend further down into the leg portion than shown, or can extend less distance than that shown, the whole purpose being to distribute the stresses and strains which are localized in the corner where the seam I6 enters the top leg` portion.

By forming this re-enforced larea which becomes a triangular patch when the stocking is seamed together, it is seen that the linternal stresses within the stocking are distributed around the weak point in the stocking and do not converge to the point where the seam enters the top leg portion or band I3. On the other hand, these stresses are distributed evenly along the outer edges of the re-enforced area Il and thus breakage of the sheer leg portion or the stocking at and along the seam, is thus prevented.

By having one courseof the main leg yarn for each carrier, or three courses of the three main leg yarns knit along with the welt yarn in the lower edge of the top leg portion, itl is readily seen that the sheer two thread yarns of the main leg portion are anchored in the more loosely knitted top leg portion and thus the tendency for the leg yarn to pull out of the top leg portion at its point of introduction is eliminated, as each main leg yarn has its end anchored in the loops of the lower courses of the top leg portion, and stresses and strains applied by the main leg portion at its juncture with the top leg. portion are distributed evenly into the lower edge of the top leg portion.

Throughout the specification, I have described the welt portion i3 and the top leg portion I1 as being of a ve thread yarn, and the sheer leg portion as being of a two thread yarn. It is, of course, understood that I am not limited to this type of yarn, as the welt yarn can have more than five threads in the yarn as well as less than tlve threads therein, and likewise, the top leg portion can be knitted from any type of yarn desired and is not limited to the ilve thread yarn or to any particular yarn. It is also true that the sheer leg portion can beof a one thread yarn, a one and one-half thread yarn, a three thread yarn, or'any type of yarn ordinarily used in the making of a sheer main leg portion.

Although I have described the re-enforcing area I4 as being knitted from the welt yarn and the two thread yarn of the sheer leg portion, another, and probably more practical way of forming this re-enforcing area I4, is to withdraw the welt yarn after the last courses have been'knitted in the lower edge of the top leg portion embodying also the sheer leg yarn, and forming the re-enforcing area with a Spicing yarn, for example, a six thread yarn, along with the sheer leg yarn, thus making the area Il contain the equivalent of an eight thread yarn. In fact, any desired type of yarn, or any desired method of knitting can be vemployed in the formation of this area Il.

In the drawing and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claim.

A full-fashioned stocking having a seam extending longitudinally of the same and comprising a doubled or welt portion interknitted at its lower edge, a top ieg portion interknitted with the lower edge of the welt portion and being single ply and of substantially the same yarn as that from which the welt portion is knitted, a main leg portion of thesheer type interknitted with the lower edge of the top leg portion and having a plurality of courses of leg yarn knitted in the lower courses of the top leg portion, and a re-enforcing area disposed on each side of the seam of the stocking and extending from the lower edge of the top leg portion into the sheer main leg portion, and interlmitted with the top leg portion and the main leg portion.

ROBERT A. FOIKMAN. 

